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Google Emphasizing Android Tablets in 2012: Rubin

Google's Android tablet market share is less than spectacular, but Android godfather Andy Rubin said the company will "double down" on tablets on 2012. Does that portend a Nexus tablet? Perhaps.

Evidence of a Google-styled tablet has yet to be confirmed from Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) or anyone else, but it now seems likely the search giant is indeed launching a tablet in the mold of the "pure Google experience" Nexus smartphones sometime this year.

Android creator Andy Rubin, who serves as senior vice president of mobile and digital content for Google, acknowledged at Mobile World Congress (MWC) that while there are more than 300 million smartphones running the open-source operating system, only 12 million tablets run Android to date.

According to The Verge, Rubin said at a press roundtable the 12 million number is "not insignificant, but less than I'd expect it to be if you really want to win."

Further reading

Winning might be the overly ambitious goal here when Google should simply try to compete first. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sold some 55 million iPads to date and is gearing up to unveil the iPad 3 next month.

The problem, said Rubin according to The New York Times, is that consumers don't view Android as a viable slate option when they "walk into a Best Buy and see a bunch of Android tablets on display."

A common cause for failing devices is the cookie-cutter dilemma: There are dozens of tablets running some flavor of Android Honeycomb, but these devices have few distinguishing features. Compounding the issue is that there are very few Android applications tailored for tablets in Google's Android Market, or any other application store.

Google and hardware partners, such as HTC and Samsung, have designed Nexus smartphones.

The Nexus models include only software Google wants on them, meaning they eschew carrier bloatware. They're also the first handsets to get new versions of the Android operating system. Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, for example, was the first Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) smartphone when it launched in December.

The most logical Nexus tablet partner choice would be Samsung, which Rubin acknowledged as enjoying a modicum of success.

It's also possible, yet unlikely, Motorola Mobility is a Nexus tablet partner contender. Google is acquiring the OEM, so it would look especially suspect if Google started tapping it now of all times to be a Nexus partner.

Adding spice to the speculation are recent comments from DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim, who told CNET that the Google-branded tablet would have a 7-inch display with a 1,280 by 800 resolution. The device could go into production this April, with manufacturers pumping out 1.5 million to 2 million units.